Ubuntu Manpage: repl - reply to an nmh message

NAME

       repl - reply to an nmh message

SYNOPSIS

       repl [-help] [-version] [+folder] [msg] [-annotate | -noannotate] [-group | -nogroup] [-cc
            all/to/cc/me] [-nocc all/to/cc/me] [-query | -noquery] [-form formfile] [-format |
            -noformat] [-filter filterfile] [-inplace | -noinplace] [-mime | -nomime] [-fcc
            +folder] [-width columns] [-draftfolder +folder] [-draftmessage msg] [-nodraftfolder]
            [-editor editor] [-noedit] [-convertargs type argstring] [-whatnowproc program]
            [-nowhatnowproc] [-atfile] [-noatfile] [-fmtproc program] [-nofmtproc] [-build]
            [-file msgfile]

DESCRIPTION

repl may be used to reply to a message.

In its simplest form (with no arguments), repl will set up a message-form skeleton in
reply to the current message in the current folder, and invoke the whatnow shell.

repl uses a reply template to construct the draft of the reply. A reply template is
simply an mhl format file (see mh-format(5) for details).

If the switch -nogroup is given (it is on by default), then repl will use the standard
forms file “replcomps”. This will construct a draft message that is intended to be sent
only to the author of the message to which you are replying. If a file named “replcomps”
exists in the user's nmh directory, it will be used instead of this default forms file.

The default reply template “replcomps” will direct repl to construct the reply message
draft as follows:

To: <Mail-Reply-To> or <Reply-To> or <From>
cc: <To> and <cc> and <personal address>
Fcc: {fcc switch} or +outbox
Subject: Re: <Subject>
In-Reply-To: <Message-Id>
References: <Message-Id>
Comments: In-Reply-To <From> or <apparently from> or <Sender>
message dated <date>
--------

where field names enclosed in angle brackets (< >) indicate the contents of the named
field from the message to which the reply is being made.

By default, the “cc:” field is empty. You may selectively add addresses to this default
with the -cc type switch. This switch takes an argument (all/to/cc/me) which specifies
who gets added to the default “cc:” list of the reply. You may give this switch multiple
times (with different arguments) if you wish to add multiple types of address.

If the switch -group is given, then repl will use the standard forms file
“replgroupcomps”. This will construct a draft message that is intended as a group or
followup reply. If a file named “replgroupcomps” exists in the user's nmh directory, it
will be used instead of this default forms file, unless you specify another forms file on
the command line or in your profile.

The default group reply template “replgroupcomps” will direct repl to construct the reply
message draft as follows:

To: <Mail-Followup-To>
Subject: Re: <Subject>
In-Reply-To: Message from <From> of <Date>.
<Message-Id>
--------

or if the field <Mail-Followup-To> is not available:

To: <Mail-Reply-To> or <Reply-To> or <From>
cc: <To> and <cc> and <personal address>
Subject: Re: <Subject>
In-Reply-To: Message from <From> of <Date>.
<Message-Id>
--------

By default, the “cc:” contains all the addresses shown. You may selectively remove
addresses from this default with the -nocc type switch. This switch takes an argument (
all/to/cc/me) which specifies who gets removed from the default “cc:” list of the reply.
You may give this switch multiple times (with different arguments) if you wish to remove
multiple types of address.

In any case, you may specify an alternative forms file with the switch -form formfile.

The -query switch modifies the action of -nocc type switch by interactively asking you if
each address that normally would be placed in the “To:” and “cc:” list should actually be
sent a copy. This is useful for special-purpose replies. Note that the position of the
-cc and -nocc switches, like all other switches which take a positive and negative form,
is important.

Lines beginning with the fields “To:”, “cc:”, and ”Bcc:” will be standardized and have
duplicate addresses removed. In addition, the -width columns switch will guide repl's
formatting of these fields.

If the draft already exists, repl will ask you as to the disposition of the draft. A
reply of quit will abort repl, leaving the draft intact; replace will replace the existing
draft with a blank skeleton; and list will display the draft.

See comp(1) for a description of the -editor and -noedit switches. Note that while in the
editor, with -atfile and if the current directory is writable, the message being replied
to is available through a link named “@” (assuming the default whatnowproc). In addition,
the actual pathname of the message is stored in the environment variable $editalt, and the
pathname of the folder containing the message is stored in the environment variable
$mhfolder. The creation of the “@” file is controlled via the -atfile and -noatfile
options.

The -convertargs switch directs repl to pass the arguments for type to mhbuild. Both
arguments are required; type must be non-empty while argstring can be empty, e.g., '' in a
shell command line. The -convertargs switch can be used multiple times. See the Convert
Interface section of mhbuild(1) for a description of the convert mechanism, and
/usr/share/doc/nmh/contrib/replaliases for examples of its use.

Although repl uses a forms file to direct it how to construct the beginning of the draft,
it uses a message filter file to direct it as to how the message to which you are replying
should be filtered (re-formatted) in the body of the draft. The filter file for repl
should be a standard form file for mhl, as repl will invoke mhl to format the message to
which you are replying.

The switches -noformat, -format, and -filter filterfile specify which message filter file
to use.

If the switch -noformat is given (it is the default) and the -filter switch is not used,
then the message to which you are replying is not included in the body of the draft.

If the switch -format is given, then a default message filter file is used. This default
message filter should be adequate for most users. This default filter “mhl.reply” is:

; mhl.reply
;
; default message filter for `repl' (repl -format)
;
from:nocomponent,formatfield="%(unquote(decode(friendly{text}))) writes:"
body:component="> ",overflowtext="> ",overflowoffset=0

which outputs each line of the body of the message prefaced with the “>” character and a
space.

If a file named “mhl.reply” exists in the user's nmh directory, it will be used instead of
this form. You may specify an alternate message filter file with the switch -filter
filterfile.

Other reply filters are commonly used, such as:

:
body:nocomponent,compwidth=9,offset=9

which says to output a blank line, and then the body of the message being replied to,
indented by one tab stop. Another popular format is:

message-id:nocomponent,nonewline,\
formatfield=“In message %{text}, ”
from:nocomponent,formatfield=“%(decode(friendly{text})) writes:”
body:component=“>”,overflowtext=“>”,overflowoffset=0

This message filter file cites the Message-ID and author of the message being replied to,
and then outputs each line of the body prefaced with the “>” character.

You can also use an external format program to format the message body. The format
program is specified by the formatproc profile entry, and is enabled by the “format” flag.
A message filter using an external format program would look like this:

body:component=“>”,nowrap,format

See the mhl(1) documentation for more information. The format program can be changed by
the -fmtproc program and -nofmtproc switches.

To use the MIME rules for encapsulation, specify the -mime switch. This directs repl to
generate an mhbuild composition file. Note that nmh will not invoke mhbuild
automatically; you must specifically give the command

What now? mime

prior to sending the draft.

If the -annotate switch is given, the message being replied to will be annotated with the
lines

Replied: date Replied: addrs

where the address list contains one line for each addressee. The annotation will be done
only if the message is sent directly from repl. If the message is not sent immediately
from repl, “comp -use” may be used to re-edit and send the constructed message, but the
annotations won't take place. Normally annotations are done inplace in order to preserve
any links to the message. You may use the -noinplace switch to change this.

Although the default template specifies that a copy of the reply will be put in the folder
`outbox', if the -fcc +folder switch is given it will override the default value. More
than one folder, each preceded by -fcc can be named.

In addition to the standard mh-format(5) escapes, repl also recognizes the following
additional component escape:

Escape Returns Description
fcc string Any folders specified with `-fcc folder'

To avoid reiteration, repl strips any leading `Re: ' strings from the subject component.

The -draftfolder +folder and -draftmessage msg switches invoke the nmh draft folder
facility. This is an advanced (and highly useful) feature. Consult mh-draft(5) for more
information.

Upon exiting from the editor, repl will invoke the whatnow program. See whatnow(1) for a
discussion of available options. The invocation of this program can be inhibited by using
the -nowhatnowproc switch. (In fact, it is the whatnow program which starts the initial
edit. Hence, -nowhatnowproc will prevent any edit from occurring.)

The -build switch is intended to be used by the Emacs mh-e interface to nmh. It implies
-nowhatnowproc. It causes a file <mh-dir>/reply to be created, containing the draft
message that would normally be presented to the user for editing. No mail is actually
sent.

The -file msgfile switch specifies the message to be replied to as an exact filename
rather than as an nmh folder and message number. The same caveats apply to this option as
to the -build switch.

FILES

       repl  looks  for  all  format,  filter  and template files in multiple locations: absolute
       pathnames are accessed directly, tilde expansion is  done  on  usernames,  and  files  are
       searched  for  in  the  user's Mail directory as specified in their profile.  If not found
       there, the directory “/etc/nmh” is checked.

       /etc/nmh/replcomps         The standard reply template
       or <mh-dir>/replcomps      Rather than the standard template
       /etc/nmh/replgroupcomps    The standard `reply -group' template
       or <mh-dir>/replgroupcomps Rather than the standard template
       /etc/nmh/mhl.reply         The standard message filter
       or <mh-dir>/mhl.reply      Rather than the standard filter
       $HOME/.mh_profile          The user profile
       <mh-dir>/draft             The draft file

PROFILE COMPONENTS

       Path:                To determine the user's nmh directory
       Alternate-Mailboxes: To determine the user's mailboxes
       Current-Folder:      To find the default current folder
       Draft-Folder:        To specify the default draftfolder
       Editor:              To override the default editor
       Msg-Protect:         To set mode when creating a new message (draft)
       fileproc:            Program to refile the message
       mhlproc:             Program to filter message being replied-to
       whatnowproc:         Program to ask the “What now?” questions

DEFAULTS

       `+folder' defaults to the current folder
       `msg' defaults to cur
       `-nogroup'
       `-nocc all' with `-nogroup', `-cc all' with `-group'
       `-noannotate'
       `-nodraftfolder'
       `-noformat'
       `-inplace'
       `-nomime'
       `-noquery'
       `-noatfile'
       `-width 72'

CONTEXT

       If a folder is given, it will become the current folder.   The  message  replied  to  will
       become the current message.

BUGS

       If  any  addresses  occur  in  the  reply  template, addresses in the template that do not
       contain hosts are defaulted incorrectly.  Instead of using the localhost for the  default,
       repl  uses the sender's host.  Moral of the story: if you're going to include addresses in
       a reply template, include the host portion of the address.

       The -width columns switch is only used to do address-folding; other headers are not  line-
       wrapped.

       If whatnowproc is whatnow, then repl uses a built-in whatnow, it does not actually run the
       whatnow program.  Hence, if you define your own whatnowproc, don't call it  whatnow  since
       repl won't run it.